Residents in Union County, North Carolina got a Christmas present they want to return — unopened. Here’s a direct report from sprawl-busters on site: “We are fighting off a 210,000 sq ft building in unincorporated Union County, NC that would back right up to residential homes and ruin the quality of life of the residents in our area. Wal-Mart is planning to build this building on the corner of Tom Short Rd. and Rea Rd. ext. (two county roads) They are planning on tearing down wet-lands and putting up a freeway barrier between us and them. Any help in our fight is greatly appreciated. Our wesite is www.cfsgfund.com. The cfsg stands for Citizens For Smart Growth. We have hired an attorney to represent us on several zoning fronts and the Union County Planning Dept, at the Courthouse has just been served with a certified letter demanding we be heard at the next planning meeting. Section 321 of the Zoning Ordinance states that “any concerned citizen can petition for re-zoning”. The County is denying us that right as abutters to the property. The abutters were also not notified of a grandfathering of old zoning rules back in May for the property. They said we had 30 days to dispute the grandfathering and our argument is if we didn’t know it took place, how could we dispute it? They admittedly didn’t even put it in the local paper! Four out of five County Commissioners are for the Wal-Mart because of the sales tax it would generate! We have organized committees in several nearby neighborhoods, have over 1,000 signed petitions and we are committed to fighting this on every level! We are planning a big rally in a couple of weeks and have several Mayor’s from nearby towns speaking, as well as a Commissioner on our behalf. Predicted attendence: 1,500+ residents.
The residents of Union County are wondering what Wal-Mart’s return policy might be? If they return the supestore proposal unopened within 30 days, do they get a full refund back of their land and home values? This is one box the Citizens for Smart Growth wish had never been delivered to their back door. For more information on this battle, go to www.cfsgfund.com
